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Part of the booty from the largest tech investment pool in the world, with stakes in Alibaba, Uber, and Boston Dynamics, looks earmarked for Swiss Re. The timing couldn't be better for the Zurich-based reinsurer: led by CEO Christian Mumenthaler, the firm has struggled with record-low interest rates and margin pressure to sharpen its profile, appease its shareholders, and arm itself for digitization's effect on the insurance business. 

This has taken a toll on its results, which have frequently missed expectations. This Friday, Swiss Re is expected to report full-year earnings marred by storm damage claims.

Would-Be Hotel Director

Kielholz is an unlikely power broker: he originally wanted to become a hotel manager because his father – a businessman in the textile industry – enjoyed vacationing at luxurious hotels, Switzerland's «Handelszeitung» (in German) wrote. 

Later, Kielholz wrote theater reviews and flirted with a career in diplomacy before heeding his father's advice and enrolling at St. Gallen's prestigious business university. He was recruited by General Re, a reinsurer, in 1976 but worked intermittently in an art gallery as well. In 1986, he switched to Credit Suisse in an insurance role before taking at job at Swiss Re in 1989. Eight years later, he was running Swiss Re, which has traditionally maintained close ties with Credit Suisse.

Penultimate Power Broker

Kielholz, who embodies the once-powerful Zurich bourgeoisie like no other banker, frequently voices an opinion on issues of  the day, particular of political and economic relevance, but he doesn't harbor the lofty fantasies of omnipotence that Son seems to. 

Which isn't to say that Kielholz is a lightweight: in 2004, he sacked then-Credit Suisse co-CEO John Mack in favor of Oswald Gruebel. Several years later, the penultimate power broker Kielholz also prevented Gruebel from joining Credit Suisse's board when he was prepared to give up the CEO spot.

Clash of Alpha Dogs

What can be expected when the Swiss banker meets the hungry «wolf»? The Swiss Re Chairman will have to leave his comfort zone. Swiss Re can count on advisor Credit Suisse in the Softbank talks, but Kielholz isn't a specialist on the Asian market or burgeoning digital models. By contrast, Son knows these topics as well as the back of his hand, and will leverage his expertise in the talks.

Son is also known for an uncompromising control maneuver: the investor has walked away from huge deals like U.S. T-Mobile because he couldn't exercise as much control as he wanted. A similar outcome is entirely possible for Swiss Re, where two alpha dogs are about to clash.